I know that they are installing phones, and I was wondering if anyone knows if an inmate can call to a cellphone? my fiance is about to get phones installed at his unit but says he is not sure if he can call to a cellphone. I only have a cellphone, no landline. I know other gals who gets calls from their men on their cells, but they are locked up in other states. If anyone has any info please let me know. Thanks!

In a recent newsletter here in Texas, it states that the calls that our love ones are going to be able to make have to be to land lines and not cell phones. We either have to be able to recieve collect calls or we have to pay for pre-paid calls. Who are loved ones call have to be on an approved list, and they are allowed 15 minute phone calls for a total of 120 minutes per month.

If you have a land line that you can forward to a cell phone that will work. That is what we did when hubby was in county. I would forward the house phone to my cell, and then I was always able to catch his calls.

according to the news article I read online, they can call out of state, it's more per minute. But not to cell phones, which, I think is absolutely ridiculous. I have a land line, but depending on whether or not the cable company has an agreement with the company putting in the phone service, I may have to switch to a hard landline from Southwestern Bell. And of course, with their great, reliable service, who knows if I'll ever get a call. That's why I have a cellphone- I don't like landlines, and I'm not really home much between work, school, volunteering.
God, give me back the days where it cost me 18.75 for 15 minutes from the County. At least I could talk to him - on my CELL PHONE!!!

according to the news article I read online, they can call out of state, it's more per minute. But not to cell phones, which, I think is absolutely ridiculous. I have a land line, but depending on whether or not the cable company has an agreement with the company putting in the phone service, I may have to switch to a hard landline from Southwestern Bell. And of course, with their great, reliable service, who knows if I'll ever get a call. That's why I have a cell phone- I don't like landlines, and I'm not really home much between work, school, volunteering.
God, give me back the days where it cost me 18.75 for 15 minutes from the County. At least I could talk to him - on my CELL PHONE!!!

Daywalker, I alsohave phone service through a cable company.I have free, unlimited long distance, but can't receive collect calls.So I got ATT for long distance service also, now I can receive collect calls. The only charges on ATT's bill are the calls I receive from my son. Just an Idea.

I know that they are installing phones, and I was wondering if anyone knows if an inmate can call to a cellphone? my fiance is about to get phones installed at his unit but says he is not sure if he can call to a cellphone. I only have a cellphone, no landline. I know other gals who gets calls from their men on their cells, but they are locked up in other states. If anyone has any info please let me know. Thanks!

Just to clarify, they are not installing any phones at this point. The contract has not been signed yet. Calls to cell phone are not supposed to be allowed but it's left to be seen if they will change that or not.

You can get a home phone and just forward all your calls to the cell phone.OR, just tell him you'll get home from work at whatever time and tell him to call after that time. Does anyone know when the pay phones will actually be installed in the units ?And are the callls going to be like it is in the County Jails (collect call for 15 minutes for over $5 ???) Just curious !!!

When hubby was in Dallas county, we set up an acount through whatever phone company handled them. If we had a pre-paid account, I could revceive calls on my cell phone. It will be interesting to see how it actually works.

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I have both home and cell and I have received calls from my husband on both. He has both of my numbers listed in his records. They alway try the house first if no one answers there then they try my cell. It does cost more to take the call on your cell than a land line. Does anyone know when this new phone system is supposed to be up and running? Also, someone mentioned 15 min calls for up to 120 mins a month... Do you know if that "time" applies to guys in Seg? Or are they still stuck out with that measly 5 mins every 3 months? I live in AZ and it would be AMAZING to be able to talk to him more since visiting is really expensive.

The Texas Board of Criminal Justice has approved a program that would allow more than 100,000 Texas prison inmates regular access to a pay telephone.
Agency officials note they will draw up proposals for bids as early as next week seeking a vendor to install and manage the inmate phones in the nation's second-largest corrections system.
Michelle Lyons, spokesperson for the TDCJ, said the enabling legislation for the program specified installing one pay phone for every 30 eligible inmates. The prison system currently houses about 155,000 offenders, and Lyons estimates about 120,000 will eligible to use the service.
"We will be installing about 4,000 phones throughout our system," she said. "They will be placed in public areas and all calls will be monitored. Prisoners will be allowed to make up to 120 minutes worth of calls each month, with a limit of 15 minutes per call. Currently, inmates only get one five-minute call each every 90 days."
She said inmates will be able to either call collect or use a prepaid calling card. Calls would be allowed only within the continental U.S. and could be made only to land lines, not cell phones. Phones will not be installed in prisoners' cells.
This article says no cells, but forward is always an option as stated earlier. Hope this helps.

Please be aware that we do NOT advise anyone to try "going around" the cell phone restriction as it is currently AGAINST the phone policy that is in effect. If you choose to do so and are caught, your phone privileges WILL be terminated.

Seg inmates will not be allowed any calls on the new phone system.

Thanks for the info about Wynne. As of now, the contract is still not signed. I'm still crossing my fingers and toes though!

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Last edited by ReggiesLady; 12-23-2008 at 03:33 PM..

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Please be aware that we do NOT advise anyone to try "going around" the cell phone restriction as it is currently AGAINST the phone policy that is in effect. If you choose to do so and are caught, your phone privileges WILL be terminated.

Seg inmates will not be allowed any calls on the new phone system.

Thanks for the info about Wynne. As of now, the contract is still not signed. I'm still crossing my fingers and toes though!

??? Currently Seg inmates get a phone call every 3 months... Are you saying that they will NO LONGER get ANY phone calls or will that just stay the same? That gives me extreme anxiety. I live in AZ and I LIVE for my husband's phone calls since I can not afford to visit very often. If anyone knows, Please let me know.

no no, they are installing phones so that they can call. my man also gets that 1 phone call every 3 months, but they are installing phones so they can call a few times a month. don't stress girl. this is good news

no no, they are installing phones so that they can call. my man also gets that 1 phone call every 3 months, but they are installing phones so they can call a few times a month. don't stress girl. this is good news

Just to clarify, the poster above you is referring to SEG inmates. They will NOT be allowed to take advantage of the new system when it goes into effect. As for whether they will get the 5 minute phone calls? Well, it's left to be seen but I, personally, wouldn't count on it since they will be excluded from the new system for security risk reasons.

I was told by my husband, that you must have a land line with, get this, no special features, like: call forwarding. Also, you can not have a digital line. You know the ones you get from Comcast, Vonage, etc. when you sign up for their bundles.

I was told by my husband, that you must have a land line with, get this, no special features, like: call forwarding. Also, you can not have a digital line. You know the ones you get from Comcast, Vonage, etc. when you sign up for their bundles.

I am not understanding why they would have all these new rules come in to play when they aren't currently in effect NOW. I mean even with the 5 minute calls Alonzo's Mom gets now she has all the special features on a Comcast system. Oh well, I guess we will see what we see...Marcia